Easy Guide to Area Rug Placement {with diagrams}; #rug, #rugplacement, #arearug

Here's a few tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your area rug. Includes area rug placement diagrams that anyone can easily implement. Great for hard floors that need a little soft touch.

 

Back in June, we were super excited to work with Metroflor Corp. and get some fabulous new flooring for the main areas of our home. We've truly been enjoying this "feet candy". 

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A few things we hadn't thought about was how our furniture would "react" to hard floors. One thing that made me sad was when that beast of a coffee table scratched my new floors {how dare she} with her rough feet that I stupidly didn't place felt on. And then there was the amusement park ride that occurred every time we sat on the loveseat...and slid almost into the kitchen. Weeee!

So, for the past few months, I had been looking for a rug. I was in love with this one from Ballard:

I was not in love with the $1,500+ price tag for the size I needed.

 

Then one day, I was doing my daily Craigslist stalking for a buffet that I've been stalking Craigslist for the last three years for {obviously unsuccessfully}. And I saw this awesome rug {in a good size for my living room} for $50. At first I thought...hmmm, carpet that was used in someone else's house? With their feet on it? But after reading the fine print a bit more, I realized this rug had barely been used and the owner said it was recently shampooed and clean {although everyone's definition of clean differs from one to the next, I thought I'd at least go look at the thing}.

To my delight, it was clean...and still had plastic pieces on it from the original packing. It was the find of the century, people. I threw it in the back of the truck and was on my way before the guy could realize that I got away with robbery, here. FIFTY BUCKS? For a rug worth over $1,000. Barely used. 

As you can see from my diagrams below, this is the size for "good" rug placement...not "best". But that's okay...I'm not sure when I'll see a 10'x14' rug on Craigslist that matches my living room like this one does. Nor will it probably be $50. Nor will I pony up and pay the amount one from Ballard would cost me. For good measure, I steamed it with my own steam cleaner when I got home. Twice. I don't know why...I just did {probably the voice of my mother in my head saying "you bought a rug off of Craigslist? KRISTI LYNN!!"}.

After the past few months of rug research, I feel like I've learned quite a lot...I thought it would be fun to share the best ways to use rugs in different rooms of the house. There is an actual visual science behind all of this and how your eyes work with it all. It's not just the rug companies trying to get us to buy the 10'x14' and be out a 2K for a piece of carpet. Visual science.

I'll be honest, it's so tempting to do the "HO HUM" arrangement because it just seems like the logical thing to do. But having the rug literally "pull" all of your furniture together like in the "GOOD" and "BEST" diagrams makes a world of difference. It's a much more cohesive look.

I'll be the first to admit, I have this all wrong with the rugs in the bedrooms of our home. But this is definitely something I can strive for and put on the to-do/wish list. I honestly kind of like the "GOOD" model better in this one. But it would be a beast to try to mop and vacuum up by the nightstands and headboard. Sometimes "BEST" is just that for more than one reason.

We currently don't have a rug in the dining areas of our home. Our formal dining room is fairly small...and I love our dark flooring showing in there with the light walls. But, this is definitely something to think about. A good rule of thumb here is to make sure that even when chairs are pulled out from the table, the front two legs are still on the rug.

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